BP Chemicals v. Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp.

229 F.3d 254 (2000)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

BP Chemicals v. Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp.

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
229 F.3d 254 (2000)

RW

Facts

Both BP Chemicals Ltd. (BP) (plaintiff), a British company, and Joseph Oat Corporation (defendant), a Pennsylvania company, did business in New Jersey and had significant business ties with Taiwan. Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corporation (Formosa Chemical) (defendant) was a Taiwanese subsidiary of another Taiwanese company, Formosa Plastics Group (Formosa Plastics). Formosa Chemical sought foreign vendors who could fabricate equipment abroad and deliver the equipment to Taiwan, where Formosa Chemical would install the equipment at its plant. Formosa Chemical compiled bid packages containing specifications for the work. Formosa Plastics purchasers delivered Formosa Chemical’s bid packages to Taiwan-based agents for several foreign firms, including Joseph Oat, which submitted the winning bid. All of the contract negotiations took place in Taiwan. BP suspected Formosa Chemical of having based its specifications on confidential BP information stolen from BP’s Taiwanese licensee. BP filed a federal suit against Formosa Chemical and Joseph Oat, alleging that they violated New Jersey’s law against trade-secret misappropriation. The key issues were whether the information BP maintained in Taiwan was entitled to trade-secret protection and whether Formosa Chemical wrongfully acquired BP’s information in Taiwan. The district court applied New Jersey law and granted BP’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Formosa Chemical and Joseph Oat appealed to the Third Circuit, where they argued that the district court should have decided BP’s motion pursuant to the laws of Taiwan.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stapleton, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership